Is it time to subscribe to a printer service from HP?

Ever since my dad brought home an...

What’s the best way of buying a phone today?

How did you buy your latest phone?...

MWC: What device highlights did you miss?

So, early last week I predicted that...

PlayBook and BlackBerry working together: Very swish

There’s been quite a lot of concern in the marketplace about how the PlayBook will ‘work’ with email, with a data connection and so on.

As the launch of the PlayBook gets nearer, it’s getting pretty clear that RIM have really thought about how many of their executives will be using the device in concert with their BlackBerry.

It’s an utter dream for the enterprise IT guys. An utter dream.

There’s no new thinking required to deploy a PlayBook (vs the total nightmare that is Apple iPad).

How does it work? Simple. You connect both your PlayBook and your BlackBerry together. Once they’re connected — boom — that’s it. Your email appears precisely as it does on your BlackBerry. It’s still going through the BES/BIS. It’s still running through your corporate systems. It’s still ‘secure’. No need to activate an IMAP server or open up ActiveSync for every user or all that jazz.

RIM have released a video demonstrating just how swish the whole thing is. Have a look:

I know some readers will be thinking, ‘What, the PlayBook doesn’t run independently?’ — however I really can see the logic. I haven’t yet met an executive who *lives* on his or her iPad. They still use their BlackBerry, their laptop, their desktop — as *well* as the iPad. The iPad might be used in meetings, on the train, or at home. The PlayBook will most probably be used in a similar set of use cases. Therefore whenever it needs a connection, it just needs to hop on to your existing BlackBerry. Which, of course, is never more than 5ft away from any ‘connected’ executive.

It’s all looking rather good.

There are a lot of outstanding questions of course. But I think they’ll be answered when we see the PlayBook in the flesh at MWC.

3 COMMENTS

  1. The idea of the PlayBook sharing a secured link with a compatible BlackBerry, which has a secure BIS or BES connection, is indeed interesting.

    But user experience wise, I’m not sure if I’ll enjoy using the PlayBook for whatever purpose intended. Sure, viewing attachments and doing those things that can be a pain on a small device are the clear upsides — but come email and messaging, my time spent will mostly be on the BlackBerry.

    I most certainly will give RIM the benefit of the doubt until I actually get to try a PlayBook in the flesh. But from the demos I’ve seen thus far, I am not entirely sold.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Recently Published

Is it time to subscribe to a printer service from HP?

Ever since my dad brought home an HP LaserJet printer (version 3, if memory serves), I have been printing with an HP. Over the...

What’s the best way of buying a phone today?

How did you buy your latest phone? I'm asking because I'm thinking about what I should be doing. When I was living in Oman, I...

MWC: What device highlights did you miss?

So, early last week I predicted that next to nothing from Mobile World Congress would break through into the mainstream media. I was right,...

How Wireless Will Pave the Path to Neobank Profitability

I'm delighted to bring you an opinion piece from Rafa Plantier at Gigs.com. I think it's particularly relevant given the recent eSIM news from...

An end of an era: Vodafone UK turns off 3G services

I thought it was worthwhile highlighting this one from the Vodafone UK team. For so long - for what feels like years, seeing the...

Mobile World Congress: Did the mainstream media notice?

I resolved this year to make sure I wrote something - anything - about Mobile World Congress, the huge mobile industry trade show taking...